External transformation funds could propel change, says SFC chair

Offering universities small amounts of money for “transformation” projects could help drive change in the cash-strapped university sector, the chair of the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) has said. 

Cara Aitchison told Times Higher Education that a key challenge for institutions in Scotland was being able to generate new income quickly because of the constraints of the current funding model.

As part of the regulator’s drive to support universities to be more financially sustainable, she said she had “wondered whether the Scottish Funding Council could [have] relatively small pots of money that universities could either bid into or could be allocated for very specific purposes”.

“From what I can tell…vice-chancellors would be very receptive to that. And I think it would help us with our transformation of the sector. 

“It’s very difficult under the current financial circumstances to be able to fund transformation internally.”

Aitchison, former vice-chancellor of Cardiff Metropolitan University, said the idea partially came from initiatives she had seen while working in Wales, when the nation’s funding council would sometimes have a small amount of money left over at the end of the financial year. 

“Something had to be done to spend this money because you wouldn’t want to give it back to government,” she said. 

“And so an initiative would be devised by the funding body, a call would go to universities, and the money could be used to move forward or to nudge forward a particular agenda. 

“It was really small amounts of money but I could see it made quite a difference. And sometimes it made a difference just by changing the discourse, rather than necessarily immediately changing practice. 

“It moved the development further along and helped people to have a longer term vision.” 

Aitchison joined the SFC’s board in June 2024, became interim co-chair in April 2025 and chair in July. She has taken up the position at an undeniably difficult time for the sector, when universities are experiencing significant financial decline and the government, via the SFC, has been forced to inject more than £60 million into the University of Dundee to keep it afloat. 

Since speaking to THE, Aitchison has set out the conditions Dundee is required to meet to access future funding, including not making any compulsory redundancies. 

Despite the dire position of many institutions, there is a small glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel as Scottish policymakers and universities have agreed to cross-party talks about the nation’s higher education funding model.

“There’s been a lot of movement just in the short space of time that I’ve been involved with the funding council,” Aitchison said. “I think when I joined, there was relatively little public debate within government because there is a fixed view within government about tuition fees for Scottish-domiciled students and, irrespective of whether you agree or not with that view, it probably has had the effect of limiting discussion and debate. 

“Over the last year, that discussion and debate has opened up, which I think is very positive. Not necessarily because it will change the position around fees but because it’s a recognition that we need to rethink our model. That doesn’t mean bringing in fees; it just means thinking about a wider model.”

She added it was “positive” to see government and officials engaging “much more openly”.

“We’re clearly in transition but I think it’s a very positive development.” 

Having worked in higher education across England, Wales, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland, Aitchison also said she believed that there were more opportunities to “showcase good practice” across the nations, particularly in terms of teaching and learning, where collaboration is less common.

“The more I’ve moved around and the more diversity of the sector I’ve experienced, the more I’ve been able to raise myself above and look down and outwards across the sector, and be able to see the big picture. 

“The solutions to some of the challenges we face are not down in the weeds, they really are at the highest level in terms of government policy and government priorities; the state of not just the Scottish or UK economy but the global economy. 

“Being able to have an insight into these aspects of the bigger picture, I think, has been really helpful.” 

helen.packer@timeshighereducation.com